digest those butterflies (Paradox)

Deith could not help but laugh as he watched, not only because the waitress' reaction was funny, but also because he was more than glad to see how much Lei's improved since the last time.

His laughter faded only after a moment, turning into another bright smile. His eyes on Lei's once more. "That's great, Lei. I'm excited to see you improve more. The water... doesn't freeze or boil without warning anymore, does it?"

He broke eye contact to tend to his cookies again. He's already finished one, and he still had three more. "That handkerchief, I already gave it to you. Just keep it for me, okay? At least with that, I'm more assured you won't... forget me."

"Ahaha... No," came a sheepish grin from Deith. He's almost forgotten that he kidded around that topic and made it a joke to Lei before. "Didn't I tell you? I'm more into blood, and I haven't really been in the mood to kill anyone."

He was glad Lei thought of those things as jokes, even though they were actually the truth. Those jokes revealed his true self. And the reason he was willing to keep the jokes going was that he hoped Lei could accept them once he finds out that they were all true after all.

Putting that aside, he was also relieved to hear what Lei said. Perhaps morbid jokes really were hard to forget. That was good. Deith did not want to be left behind again. Or to be hated or feared. Especially by someone he likes.

Thump. There went his heartbeat. Ignoring it, he continued with his latté and cookies, slowly finishing them. "Sorry, that's all I got today."

"Well, where do you wanna go? Movies?" Deith asked before finishing his own food as well. He was really okay with anything, as long as he could stay with Lei longer.

He paused and brought out his phone from his pocket. He almost forgot. He had to get Lei's number.

He handed him the black rectangle, as he showed him a pleading smile. "Before we go anywhere else, may I have your number first?"

Deith returned the grin as he took back his phone and saved Lei's number. 'Adorable Ocean Fighter ❤' was the name he saved for it.

He couldn't hold in his laughter as he stared at that name. But before Lei even becomes curious and snatches it from him, he decided to put the phone back in his pocket.

"Heheh... Right, uh... Park?" He tried his best to wipe his grin off his face but he had a hard time doing so. "You sure? What do we do in the park? I don't think you're the type to enjoy watching other people."

Deith chuckled in a way that seemed like he was only trying his best not to laugh aloud. Because Lei amused him. "Okay, that actually sounds nice. But really, I don't understand if you really want to go try the rides out or not, you kinda contradicted yourself, kinda."

After calming down, Deith asked for the bill and paid for it afterwards. He stood up, and, even though he wanted to hold Lei's hand, he wasn't sure Lei would take his, and so he simply waited for him to get ready as well.

"Hey, don't worry about scary rides. The thrill is nothing but fun! Who knows, you might come to a self-reflection in the middle of feeling like you're about to die," he teased, and continued his good laugh. "And aside from that, I'll also be just right here."